A coalition of animal welfare, environmental and conservation organizations
joined New York State Assembly Members Alan Maisel, D-Brooklyn, Grace Meng,
D-Flushing, and Linda Rosenthal, D-Manhattan, to support a new bill to end New
York’s contribution to the dire collapse of shark populations worldwide. If
enacted, New York will join four Pacific states – California, Hawaii, Oregon
and Washington – and the U.S. territories of Guam and Northern Mariana Islands
in similar actions to provide critical protection to sharks and preserve the
health of the world’s ocean ecosystems by banning the possession, sale, trade
and distribution of shark fins. The bipartisan state legislation,
A.7707a/S.6431 is sponsored by Assembly Members Maisel and Meng in the Assembly
and by Sen. Mark Grisanti, R-Buffalo, in the Senate.

“Action to ban the barbaric practice of shark fining is long overdue,” said
Assembly Member Maisel. “Sharks occupy the top of the marine food chain and are
a critical part of the ocean ecosystem. I am honored to join with Assemblywoman
Meng and Senator Grisanti in this historic effort to prevent the possession,
sale and trade in shark fins in New York State. Our success will hopefully lead
to nationwide protection for these magnificent creatures.”

“I would like to congratulate my colleagues Assembly Member Maisel and
Senator Grisanti for taking the lead on this initiative,” said Assemblywoman
Meng. “Shark finning is an irresponsible practice which kills millions of
sharks every year. Unless we act now, global shark populations will be greatly
affected for many years to come."

“New York must not be complicit in the reprehensible practice of shark
finning, which has led to the demise of shark populations worldwide,” said
Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal. “With the passage of bill A.7707a, which I am
proud to-cosponsor with Assembly Members Maisel and Meng, the possession and
sale of shark fins will become illegal here, and we will join the entire West
Coast in banning a cruel practice that is wreaking havoc on our oceanic
ecosystems.”

“I am proud to be the Senate sponsor of A.7707a/S.6431, prohibiting the
possession, sale, and trade of shark fin in New York,” said Sen. Grisanti. “The
decimation of the shark population is a serious concern as it has a detrimental
trickle-down effect for the entire oceanic food chain. With the shark
population in serious peril, and other countries and states passing legislation
to protect sharks, New York should be a leader in extending protection to these
magnificent animals.”

Statements from each participating organization are included below:

Patrick Kwan, New York state director for The Humane Society of the
United States, said: “New York should not be a haven for the cruel,
wasteful and unsustainable trade in shark fin. The Empire State has long taken
action to protect other threatened and endangered species such as tigers,
elephants and bears, now it’s time we start protecting sharks and stop
contributing to this cruelty and help end the inhumane and ecologically
devastating practice of shark finning worldwide.”

Dr. Michael Hirshfield, Oceana’s chief scientist and senior
vice president for North America said: “Eating shark fins is as absurd as
eating tiger paws. Demand for shark fin soup is responsible for the slaughter
of these magnificent creatures so essential to the health of our oceans. Oceans
without sharks are oceans out of balance, which means trouble for everyone who
depends on oceans for food, jobs and enjoyment.”

Iris Ho, wildlife campaigns manager of Humane Society International,
said: “Tens of millions of sharks are killed every year to meet global
demand for shark fins. Many have their fins sliced off and are then tossed back
into the ocean to suffer a painful death. We applaud the humane leadership of
Senator Mark Grisanti and Assembly Members Alan Maisel and Grace Meng for
championing this historic effort to end this cruelty and protect shark
populations and ocean ecosystems.”

Peter Knights, executive director of WildAid, said: “These
are ecosystems that have evolved over millions and millions of years. As soon
as you start to take out an important part of it, it's like a brick wall, you
take out bricks and eventually it's going to collapse.”

Sarah Chasis, oceans initiative director for the Natural Resources
Defense Council, said: “Worldwide, shark populations are in steep
decline, threatening a cascade of devastation down the ocean food chain. We
know that shark-finning is a significant cause of this decline and we know how
to stop it. New York’s shark legislation will eliminate our state's
contribution to the demand that drives the practice of finning.”

Alejandra Goyenechea, international counsel for Defenders of
Wildlife, said: “Finning is decimating the world's shark
populations at an alarming rate and now New York has a chance to join the
worldwide movement dedicated to halting this practice and ensuring this species'
survival. This is truly an example of 'Think globally, act locally'."

Michael Skoletsky, executive director of Shark Savers,
said: “Sharks are critically important to a healthy marine environment and
divers like me have grown to appreciate sharks as being intelligent and
graceful animals. New York should not participate in the deadly shark fin trade
that is primarily responsible for devastating shark populations throughout the
world.”

Tracy Coppola, program associate for Born Free USA, said: “Born
Free USA strongly believes that one cannot effectively protect sharks without
eliminating the market for shark fins. Sharks face many threats in today’s
oceans, but the practice of ‘shark finning’ is by far the cruelest of all. It
is time for New York to speak out against this unspeakably cruel practice. We
commend Senator Grisanti and Assembly Members Maisel and Meng for their
leadership on this important issue.”

Christopher Chin, executive director of The Center for Oceanic
Awareness, Research, and Education, said: “Sharks are vital for
healthy ocean ecosystems, but their populations have declined dramatically the
last few decades as a result of human greed and lack of understanding. Animals
at the top of the food chain, such as sharks, have few natural predators, so
they are slow to mature and have very few young. As a result, they are
extremely sensitive to fishing pressures, and are slow to recover from
overfishing.”

Marie Levine, executive director of the Shark Research Institute,
said: “Much of the shark fin trade uses fins hacked off living sharks. If we
found dogs and horses with their legs severed, bleeding and dying, the public
outrage would be deafening. The difference is that finning takes place at sea,
out of sight. Because the trade is largely unregulated and unmonitored, and
finning often takes place beyond national and state jurisdiction, the most
effective method to bring an end to this brutal practice is through legislation
such as this.”

Facts:

The fins from up to 73 million sharks are used to make
shark fin soup each year.

Conservation enforcement and finning bans in the U.S.
alone are not enough to conserve sharks. A ban on shark fin products, such
as A.7707a/S.6431 proposes, is the most effective way to eliminate the
demand for shark fins and to eradicate shark finning around the
world.

Shark fin is often the most expensive item on
restaurant menus and typically served simply as a symbol of status. It has
no nutritional value and is the main driver of the multi-billion dollar
international shark fin trade. The dish is highly controversial because of
the manner in which shark fins are harvested and the precarious status of
many shark populations.

In 2011, President Obama signed the Shark Conservation
Act to strengthen the federal law against shark finning at sea and require
that sharks be landed with their fins still attached.

Membership

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Contributions to The Humane Society of the United States are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. The HSUS's tax identification number is 53-0225390.